AP Interview: Official says Syria to defend itself

Updated 11:04 am, Monday, August 26, 2013

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A senior Syrian official says his country will defend itself against any international attack and vows Syria will not be an easy target.

In an interview with The Associated Press in Damascus Monday, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad said strikes against Syria would trigger "chaos" and threaten worldwide peace and security.

He said a U.N. team in Damascus currently investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons should be allowed to do its work, before the world makes any judgment.

The U.S. has said there is little doubt that Assad's regime was responsible for the attack on Aug. 21 in the capital's suburbs. The group Doctors Without Borders said 355 people were killed in an artillery barrage by regime forces Wednesday that included the use of toxic gas.

Photo: AP

Image 1of/5

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 5

In this photo taken on a government organized media tour, a Syrian army soldier walks on a street in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013. Syrian state media accused rebels of using chemical arms on Saturday against government troops trying to storm a contested neighborhood of Damascus, claiming a major army offensive in recent days had forced the opposition fighters to resort to such weapons "as their last card." State TV broadcast images of plastic jugs, gas masks, vials of an unspecified medication, explosives and other items that it said were seized from rebel hideouts. It did not, however, show any video of soldiers reportedly affected by toxic gas in the fighting in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus. less

In this photo taken on a government organized media tour, a Syrian army soldier walks on a street in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013. Syrian state media accused rebels of ... more

Photo: AP

Image 2 of 5

This citizen journalism image provided by the Local Committee of Arbeen which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows dead bodies of Syrian citizens in Arbeen town, Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2013. Syrian regime forces fired intense artillery and rocket barrages Wednesday on the eastern suburbs of the capital Damascus, in what two pro-opposition groups claimed was a "poisonous gas" attack that killed dozens of people. less

This citizen journalism image provided by the Local Committee of Arbeen which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows dead bodies of Syrian citizens in Arbeen town, Damascus, ... more

Photo: AP

Image 3 of 5

In this photo provided by the Local Committee of Arbeen, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other Associated Press reporting, Syrian citizens try to identify dead bodies after an alleged poisonous gas attack, according to activists in Arbeen town on Wednesday. less

In this photo provided by the Local Committee of Arbeen, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other Associated Press reporting, Syrian citizens try to identify dead bodies after an alleged ... more

Photo: Uncredited, HOEP

Image 4 of 5

Syrians wave the Syrian revolutionary flag during a protest in front of the Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan, to condemn the alleged poison gas attack on the suburbs of Damascus, Friday, Aug. 23, 2013. Anti-government activists accused the Syrian regime of carrying out a toxic gas attack that is thought to have killed at least 100 people, including many children as they slept, during intense artillery and rocket barrages Wednesday on the eastern suburbs of Damascus. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon) less

Syrians wave the Syrian revolutionary flag during a protest in front of the Syrian embassy in Amman, Jordan, to condemn the alleged poison gas attack on the suburbs of Damascus, Friday, Aug. 23, 2013. ... more

Photo: Mohammad Hannon, Associated Press

Image 5 of 5

Syrian girl shouts anti-President Assad slogans, and holds photos of Syrian kids who died in the alleged poison gas attack on the suburbs of Damascus, during a protest in front of the Syrian embassy, in Amman, Jordan, Friday, Aug. 23, 2013. Anti-government activists accused the Syrian regime of carrying out a toxic gas attack that is thought to have killed at least 100 people, including many children as they slept, during intense artillery and rocket barrages Wednesday on the eastern suburbs of Damascus that are part of a fierce government offensive in the area. less

Syrian girl shouts anti-President Assad slogans, and holds photos of Syrian kids who died in the alleged poison gas attack on the suburbs of Damascus, during a protest in front of the Syrian embassy, in ... more